Instead of abolishing bad practices that are widespread in society, local officials in Bajura district have themselves followed it.
Binu Subedi: Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal
When she feels unwell, Surja Pari, who was elected as ward member of Budhiganga Municipality-1 in 2017, doesn’t visit a nearby health post. Instead, she seeks cure from her neighbourhood Gods. If it fails her to treat, she would start seeking blessings from bigger Gods.
She would eventually agree to visit a hospital if she would not be cured even after seeking blessing from the bigger Gods. It’s normal in her ward for people to seek divine blessings for birth of a son and for women to be banished to sheds during their periods. “Conservative practices are still deeply rooted here. Women are banished to sheds during their periods and after giving birth to a baby. It’s also normal for people to seek blessings from God for a son,” said Chandrakala Budha, Vice Chairwoman of Himali Rural Municipality.
Elected local officials have been unable to break themselves free from bad practices. Chandrakala is not alone. Motikala Thapa, a woman member of Budhiganga Municipality-1 of Bajura, acknowledged that she could not challenge bad practices even after she got elected as a local council member. Though the menstrual sheds have been demolished as part of a campaign to end the Chhaupadi practice, like other thousands of women, she faces discriminations. According to her, she and other women are forced to follow bad practices that have persisted over centuries.
It’s not only women who have failed to challenge the deeply rooted practices. Even male local representatives have failed to defy them. Deepak Bikram Shah, Mayor of Budhiganga Municipality, said many superstitions and bad practices, despite being illegal, have been allowed to continue. Despite their prevalence at almost every household, he could not eliminate them. “The number of literate and educated people in the village has increased. The local government is in place. However, the faith on these practices has not declined,” he said.
The predicament of most local officials of Bajaura is not very different from that of Motikala Thapa and Surja Pari. No person will be exploited on the basis of his or her religion, customs, traditions, culture or any other creed, according to the Section 29 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. Under the new Civil and Criminal Code of 2018, anyone practicing Chhaupadi or forcing women to sheds faces three months in jail or a fine of 3000 rupees or both.
However, local officials of Bajura have made a mockery of the constitutional provision. They do not appear keen on enforcing the laws. Instead, they have become a conduit of bad practices and superstition in the society. Purna Joshi, a lawmaker of Province 7, said, “The law has put a ban on discrimination and exploitation of and injustice to women in the name of tradition, practices and values. However, we should not delay punishing people who perpetuate these practices.”
A common scene
Tap water being used by locals.
Due to these bad practices, both the district’s elected local officials and ordinary people suffer from same misery. Together, they face same problem surrounding bad practices that have entrenched in the society. Dhankala Rawal is often found at her maternal home in Budhiganga Municipality.
She believes the spirit of her husband, who was killed during the Maoist insurgency, has been transferred into her body. She says she is possessed by her husband’s spirit even when doing household chores and farm work. She moved to her maternal home after the problem exacerbated at her husband’s house. The problem persisted despite her relocation. “Wherever I go, it follows me. I can’t live in peace,” Dhankala said. “I haven’t felt better even after coming here.”
It’s been over a year since the local government has been elected across the country, but Dhankala’s faith in the practice is unwavering. Due to the superstition in the society, she still believes her spouse’s spirit has entered into her body. Does medical science have an answer to her problem? We spoke to senior psychiatrist Ajay Risal of Dhulikhel Hospital. “This is Dissociative Disorder. Long-term mental stress is seen as physical symptoms. Her mental illness can be cured by medical treatment,” he said.
After her son became ill, Bhawana Devi of Budhiganga-5 visited the local health post in December last year. But her son didn’t recover. She says, “It turned out that spirit had possessed him. How could doctor’s medicine cure him?”
The shaman’s business
The business of the shamans has flourished after the local government and other local bodies failed to combat superstition. Often times, number of people consulting shamans is bigger than patients visiting health posts.
Chandraman Sarki is a well-known shaman in the village. His clients range from people with family feuds to sexually abused women. “There is a tendency to seek God’s blessings even someone’s money is stolen,” Chandraman said. “People who don’t have money, those who cannot express their grievances, visit a shaman.”
Separate tap water supply for menstruating women.
Take, for instance, the case of Bishna Devi Thapa. Her husband, Dev Bahadur Thapa, suffered injuries after an accident in India. She believes her husband survived because of divine blessings. “My husband would not have been alive if we hadn’t pray to God,” she said. Though her husband recovered after spending Rs 1.8 million in various hospitals in India and Nepal, she credits her faith in the local deity for his recovery.
Lokendra Thapa, middle son of Suntali Devi Thapa of Budhiganga Municipality-5, left to India after marrying a woman. He did not contact his family for two years and didn’t return home for eight years. In order to find him, the family vowed to offer prayers at a local deity. They believe their joint efforts—with the man’s wife seeking blessings from a deity at her maternal home and his mother doing the same at her place—paved the way for the homecoming of the man.
The prayers are not just limited to a man gone missing. People seek blessings if they want to have a son. Suna Devi Thapa believes her son was born following her prayers. Her faith on God increased after she gave birth to a son 10 months after she sought blessings from a local deity. If her son gets sick, she visits a local shrine. “If he doesn’t drink milk, I visit the deity,” she said.
Not everyone seeking divine blessings to have a got their wish fulfilled. After his wife gave birth to six girls, Bir Bahadur Thapa, husband of Ujwala Devi Thapa, married a second woman. He sent his first wife to the local shrine to seek blessings from God so that he could marry the second wife. He again sent his first wife to seek blessings from the God for his second wife to have a son. It proved futile because his second wife also gave birth to a girl.
Similarly, 23-year-old Priyanka Khatri of Budhiganga Municipality-4, believes that her husband married another woman because the God was angry with her. She has neither opposed her husband’s decision to marry another woman nor has she gained support from neighbors. Everyone is mum due to fear of God.
‘I became mad’
Many practices such as Chhaupadi have been deemed illegal. However, women and teenage girls of Bajura still observe Chhaupadi. The girls of Toli Secondary School in Triveni Municipality do not go to school for four days during their period. Shanta Kumari Saud had gone to school after she began menstruating years ago. “I became mad and dropped out of school,” she said.
Many teenage girls are fearful of God for going to school during their menstrual cycle. As a result, they stay in sheds near their home during four days of their period and miss their classes. In total, they miss 48 days of school. Due to this, girls’ performance in school is weak in comparison to boys.
Krishna Kumari Saud of Toli thinks the God gets angry if she goes to school during her period. Sushmita Thapa of Budhiganga Municipality-5 turned 14. She doesn’t stay at the shed during her period. Nor does she skip school. However, she is still conservative in some matters. “If we drink milk when we are in period, the buffalo does not give milk. So I also follow this,” she said.
This is not only followed by school girls, it is also applied to family members of local officials. Women are being deprived of curd and milk during their period, according to Tara Thapa Khati, deputy mayor of Budhiganga Municipality. “During her period, my daughter-in-law stays at the shed adjoining our house. We don’t eat food cooked by her,” she said.
While menstruating, teen age girls should eat more nutritious food like milk and curd. But they are also barred from bathing at the communal tap. “People scold us if we use communal tap, so I go to the nearby stream,” she said.
According to a study by non-government organizations Soch, there are 57 types of bad practices, which discriminate, exploit and do injustice to women across Nepal. Women in far-western region practice most of these practices. Though laws have prohibited them, elected officials and society at large have helped perpetuate it. The local officials should have led in eliminating the practices from the lives of common people, but they have failed in their job. “The sooner the elected local officials combat bad practices, we could beat the superstitions faster,” said lawmaker Joshi.
